Following fire at extended-stay hotel, 15 families are on path to permanent housing

A fire at the Welcome Inn in Springfield caused 150 people to be evacuated, according to a fire department spokeswoman. Firefighters were still spraying water on the hotel the next morning.(Photo: Nicole Moore (top photo) and Giacomo Bologna (bottom photo))

While the recent fire at a Springfield extended-stay hotel was certainly an inconvenience for the 120 households staying there, for at least 15 families, the fire has put them on a path to permanent housing.

Following the fire, the Red Cross referred families and individuals to One Door, the central point of entry for many of the shelters and shelter-related services in Greene, Christian and Webster counties.

About 30 families did reach out to One Door to be assessed for housing assistance. Ten of those are in the process of moving into permanent housing with assistance from either One Door's Diversion Program or with the assistance of Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri.

Another five households are being served by either The Kitchen, Inc.'s shelter and housing programs or are at The Salvation Army's Family Enrichment Center, a long-term intervention program that provides practical assistance for homeless families.

Michelle Garand, deputy director at One Door, said these 15 families might not have ever known about or sought services at One Door.

"They probably didn't view themselves as homeless," she said. "They were making it marginally because they were in a weekly rental. This actually did help us connect with families."

Adam Bodendieck, One Door director, agreed.

"At the end of the day, there is a good number of families who are going to come out of this in a much more stable housing situation, which is an awesome silver lining," he said.

The six families who are eligible for One Door's Diversion Program are those with "low barriers" to housing, meaning they don't have a history of evictions or felony convictions. Rather, they have income but were having trouble coming up with the initial deposits for rent and/or utilities.

Bodendieck said one family, in particular, had someone in the household with an eviction from years ago.

"We provided a little bit of assistance and they are signing a lease today (Thursday)," he said. "That is all they needed. They just didn't know how to find a property owner or management company that was willing to work with them. It was really a neat opportunity."

The other four families eligible for assistance from Catholic Charities are those with higher barriers to housing, like a history of evictions or legal troubles.

"Catholic Charities and the case managers they have can really work and advocate for them in different ways to be able to find property owners that they can get a lease with and help them through that process," Bodendieck said.

Community Foundation of the Ozarks has dedicated $15,000 to assist these 10 families for "housing specific services" like deposits, Garand said.

Garand and Bodendieck said they have no way of knowing where the other 90 households from the Western Inn are now. The households are likely either staying in another motel, staying with friends or family or have somehow resolved their housing issues on their own. Some of the people at the Welcome Inn were actually traveling through Springfield and have probably since reached their destination.

"From my perspective, the One Door team has done a ton of work in connecting families and finding out what we can do to help," Garand said. "And really, it was amazing just seeing how the Red Cross, United Way, Community Foundation (of the Ozarks) and others came together."

She said Crosslines, Convoy of Hope, Salvation Army and The Kitchen were among the key players in response to the Welcome Inn fire. The faith community and the Community Organizations Active in Disaster also kicked in some cash to help those who needed hotel assistance.

"Really, there was huge investment and rallying for the immediate needs of families through those great organizations," she said.